Xin Ru Tan

Often times we view happiness as a goal - a goal that we need to reach for everything to magically get better. But it isn't, happiness is an emotion that comes and goes, flows like the waves, and it's perfectly fine not to feel it all the time. 

I believe that the quest of psychology is not 'fixing', it's finding your own way to live a flourishing life.

This study investigated the relationship between gratitude, prosocial behaviour, materialism, and psychological flourishing among Malaysian university students, in which the factors were discussed based on the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 2004; Fredrickson & Joiner, 2000). 

What is Psychological Flourishing?

Psychological flourishing (PF)  is an optimal state of mental health that encompasses more than just the absence of mental illness (Keyes, 2007). It entails a self-perceived condition of social-psychological prosperity in which a person feels themselves to be in a state of vitality, to have social connections, and to be able to find satisfaction in life (Diener et al., 2010; Keyes, 2002).

Why are we investigating this?

Extant research indicates that poor mental health of Malaysian university students appears to be evident (Wan Mohd Yunus et al., 2021; Wong et al., 2021; Kotera et al., 2020; Mohamad et al., 2021). Prolonged and high levels of anxiety and stress stems from academic challenges, financial difficulties, and homesickness (Vitasari et a., 2010) increase the risk of physical illness, depression, and suicidal ideation (Keyes et al., 2012; Reisbig et al., 2012). 

The broaden-and-build theory explains how positive emotions "broaden" one's thought-action repertoires and fosters PF (Fredrickson, 2004). Studies suggest that positive emotion promotes resilience, exploration, and proactive participation in social activities (Hayward et al., 2010; Lambert et al., 2009; Otake et al., 2006) that are prevalent among flourishers (Fredrickson & Joiner, 2002; Keyes, 2002).

Definitions of Variables

Gratitude is defined as an emotion that results from the perception of obtaining a benefit from an external source (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). Prosocial behaviors are voluntary actions that focus on benefiting others (Miles et al., 2021). Materialism is a belief in the importance of possessions in one’s life for happiness (Richins & Dawson, 1992).

Previous findings indicated that gratitude,  prosocial behaviour, and materialism may affect one's PF. To illustrate, broaden-and-build theory supported that gratitude, as a positive emotion (Alkozei et al., 2018), and prosocial behaviour, that evokes positive emotions, broadens one’s thought and build emotional resources to deal with stressful events, which lead to increased PF (Fredrickson, 2004).  In contrast, there are mixed findings on the relationship of materialism and well-being. For instance, Richins (2013) suggested that materialistic individuals experience stronger positive emotions due to the expectations of acquisition of the desired products. On the other hand, Solberg et al. (2004) asserted that materialists tend to experience more anxiousness, and diminished vitality (Kasser & Ahuvia, 2002). 

How did we do it?

A non-experimental cross-sectional study using survey method was used. A self-administered Google survey, and a poster were shared on social media platforms (i.e., Instagram, Whatsapp, and Facebook) to recruit participants. 199 participants with the age ranged from 19 to 26 years old (31.7% male and 68.3% female) completed the survey. 

What did we found?

Multiple regression analysis indicated that both gratitude and prosocial behaviour are significant predictors of PF. This implies that participants who were more grateful and who had higher prosocial behaviour were found to experience enhanced PF. In contrary, there is no relationship between materialism and PF. Prosocial behaviour makes the strongest unique contribution to students’ PF.

What do the findings tell us?

Gratitude and prosocial behaviours are crucial factors for Malaysian undergraduates to be psychologically flourished, in which prosocial behaviour plays the most important role in predicting PF. Participants who engage in prosocial behaviours may experience higher level of positive emotions even without direct contacts (Curry et al., 2018; Martela & Ryan, 2016) due to gratifications (Miles et al., 2021). Compared to gratitude and materialism, one may feel more contentment and love when behaving prosocially (Nelson et al., 2016), which promotes greater flourishing.

Materialism is not related to students' PF, why?

Besides, materialism has no effect on participants' PF. Personal value is the central antecedent of materialism (Richins & Dawson, 1992). Malaysia has a collectivist culture (Sumari et al., 2019), thus, they may not view material consumption as a way to achieve success and happiness, but rather as a way to fulfill collective obligations or to attain congruence with their own collectivistic beliefs (Awanis et al., 2017), and subsequently less likely to influence their own happiness and PF.

To conclude, the experience of positive emotions during the practice of gratitude and engagement in prosocial behaviour is important for one to feel more joy and reward, which nurtures a flourishing life. 

Acknowledgement

I wish to thank Dr. Wu Shin Ling, my research project supervisor, for her significant involvement in supporting and facilitating this project.

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